"Flyin' Brian" wowed crowds around the country with his dazzling and innovative in-ring style, electrifying fans for the better part of a decade. He later evolved into the "Loose Cannon," a character that set the standard for blurring the lines between reality and script in pro wrestling, so much so that Pillman's name has only increased in reverence in the 20-plus years since his untimely death.

Now, his son, wrestling as Brian Pillman II, is following his father's example — but he's out to make his own name.

With the younger Pillman lacing up his wrestling boots, the family story will continue to be told. That said, there exists a stereotype surrounding young wrestlers: they're brash and loud, and they want to make their names known with their personalities rather than their ability.

The tone of the younger Pillman's voice contradicts that; he speaks with humility, discipline and determination as he prepares to deliver a wake-up call to the wrestling world like a steel chair to the face.

For a neophyte wrestler — in a business that praises and heralds the obscure and the absurd — that's a breath of fresh air.

"I definitely go into each locker room with a different mindset each time," Pillman told Sporting News. "I'm trying to constantly evolve and see how people receive me. And try not to be 'Oh, look at me.'"

The younger Pillman embarked on his wrestling journey in 2017. Trained by respected veteran grapplers Lance Storm and Rip Rogers, Pillman is finding his way in a wrestling ring. That can be a challenge when you're the son of a legendary wrestler. Across wrestling history, second- and third-generation stars often capture the attention and imagination of fans — after all, wrestling is a business in which fans feast on nostalgia. Living up to a well-recognized name while learning the business can be an additional burden.

Now, roughly 60 matches into his career, Pillman has his bearings. Wrestling with independent promotions around the country, including Black Label Pro and Indianapolis Championship Wrestling, Pillman is learning the ropes, literally and figuratively.

He recently trained and worked with Rockstar Pro wrestling of Dayton, Ohio, where he's learning the new wave of the indie style. The training isn't without its challenges.

"I think the hardest thing is meeting new wrestlers that were trained with different styles," Pillman told SN. "Just trying to adapt to every different style of wrestling is one of the bigger challenges. Some people run their matches faster, shorter and harder. Some people like to draw it out, take their time and really test things out, strategy- and psychology-wise."

Not only is learning how to wrestle others' styles difficult, so is finding what works best for oneself inside the squared circle. Different countries lend themselves to different styles of wrestling, and that's no different for American wrestling. Discovering how to wrestle and what to do when the bell rings isn't as simple as recreating what you'd see on TV or in a video game.

"I'm really looking for an aggressive, physical style. I'm not a huge monster by any stretch. I'm not a small, flippy guy, either. I like to watch guys like AJ Styles, guys like Kenny Omega, guys in that 5-10, 220-pound range, 'cause they can do it all. They can do the big moves, they can do the aerial moves, but they're a jack-of-all-trades, perhaps master of none. But they're so good at every aspect, you can't help but notice how good they are."

The 6-2, 220-pound Cincinnati native understands what it takes to make it in the ring. He preaches "evolution" and "adaptation," and he understands that stagnation is perhaps the biggest enemy of a pro wrestler. That is especially true for characters and gimmicks.

As with in-ring style, a gimmick isn't an easy thing to develop. For wrestlers like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin — himself a former tag-team partner of the elder Brian Pillman — characters can take a decade to discover. For others, developing a character might never happen.

"My gimmick is that I'm Brian Pillman Jr. That's my gimmick," Pillman told SN. "Eventually I'm going to have to change, I'm going to have to evolve and drop the 'II' or drop the 'Jr.,' become somebody else, somebody fresh, somebody new. I'm kind of in that process of that. I'm trying to develop my first beyond-the-legacy gimmick.

"No good wrestler relies and depends on a gimmick," he continued. "It can be a crutch to some people, or they don't know to evolve, so they milk the gimmick for too long. They've been on the same s— for three years. Like, OK, it was cool a year ago, but it's time to evolve or time to change."

Even though dropping the "Jr." from his name may be in his future, shedding the legacy isn't necessarily on Pillman's agenda. His father's life was cut tragically short; the elder Pillman died of a heart attack at age 35 in 1997. Some years earlier, a car accident limited what he was able to do in the ring, somewhat grounding an otherwise high-flying style. Still, crowds took to Pillman in a big way.

Flyin' Brian Jr. knew his dad was special; he noticed that people often attached the word "legend" to his name. He saw his father in video games and understood that his name was well-regarded within the wrestling community. But Pillman didn't quite know what his surname name truly meant until he entered the industry.

"Until I broke into the business and got to meet the people that worked with (my dad), and got to see the reaction I got, not just from the fans but also from the boys in the back, and the promoters and everyone involved in wrestling … as I'd go to indies and stuff, I'd start to realize, 'God damn, I have this name that carries this mystique … this burden, in a sense. I'm kind of burdened in living up to it.'

"It's amazing, it's mysterious. It's really cool to kind of learning new things, not only about my father, but about myself as I explore this business. It's a really unique thing to have."

It's the start of bigger things for Pillman, who sees his future winding around the world. He said he's a fan of Japanese professional wrestling, which is known for its strikes, submissions and smash-mouth style before the glitz, glamour and pageantry of other prominent wrestling promotions.

"I'm going to take this path as if I didn't have that name, that avenue," Pillman said. "So I'm going to see if I can work my way up, and maybe try to go to Japan and maybe train over there for a little while, and just really become a well-rounded wrestler.

"The other things will come. The advantages, the disadvantages, the burdens and the graces. Those will all come with who I am, the opportunities that I'll have. But for me it's, 'What can I work towards? What are the opportunities I can work towards?'"

As Pillman's career unfolds, he'll get the answers to those questions, but the biggest question that remains is the most obvious one: Could Pillman end up with his father's former employer?

While the WWE Performance Center — based in Orlando, Fla., home of NXT — did come up in conversation, Pillman is focused on blazing his own trail.

"They're always bringing in new talent at the (performance center). Where do they want you to be? Do they want you to be kind of almost ready? Do they want you be totally ready for TV?" Pillman asked. "You never know what stage they want to bring you in. Sometimes they bring in athletes with zero experience wrestling. . . .

"I'm not calling in any favors from the WWE."

And that's what stands out most about the younger Pillman. In today's game, there are plenty of "superstars" who have gotten by on name recognition alone. Having a familiar last name in the world of wrestling will sometimes lend itself to perks and advantages others might not get.

Take, for example, Cody Rhodes, who is out on his own, not living off the last name of his father, the "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes left WWE where he was stagnant in the midcard with no main-event push in sight. Now, "The American Nightmare" is arguably the most popular independent wrestler on the planet, far surpassing the recognition he got while with WWE.

Pillman is set to follow a similar path, however difficult it may be.

"I don't want to be the guy that's trying to get by easy on his name. I really want to work for it. I want people to see what I can do," he said.